He added: 'But it's a very complex, potentially dangerous surgery ... it's disturbing to see people with no real dental flaws daring to go through it just to have a small, pretty face.'

Risky: Another ad extolls the beauty virtues of the procedure - but it can take months to recover from and can leave some patients with facial paralysis

Despite the risks, the country's booming beauty business is keen to capitalise on the latest cosmetic surgery trend and posters advertising the procedure are rife.

One poster advertising a cosmetic clinic at a subway station in Seoul states they are: 'The double-jaw surgery clinic chosen by the pickiest ladies.'

'Everyone but you has done it,' states another advert for the procedure on a bus.

A number of South Korean celebrities are also said to have had the op and then extolled on TV shows how it has given them a 'new life'.

Figures from the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons reveal South Korea has one of the highest per-capita rates of plastic surgery procedures in the world.

Pressure to be pretty: Cosmetic surgery is on the rise in South Korea and the beauty business is keen to capitalise on trends - with double-jaw surgery the latest must-have as another advert shows

A doctor with the Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons said the double-jaw procedure took off around four years ago when a Seoul dental clinic ran a major ad campaign promoting the cosmetic benefits.

As it became popular, plastic surgeons began offering the surgery, causing the price to fall and making it more affordable.

A recent study estimated the procedure had been performed 5,000 annually, but it did not differentiate between cosmetic and medically prescribed operations.

Some 52 percent of those who had taken the surgery suffered sensory problems such as facial numbness, the study said.

Shin Hyon-Ho, a medical malpractice lawyer in Seoul, said he had seen cases where the surgery had resulted in chronic jaw pain, a skewed mouth, misaligned teeth and an inability to chew or smile.

He said: 'The number of plastic surgery-related cases is growing ... with complications becoming more serious.'

This was illustrated last August when a 23-year-old killed herself after having double jaw surgery.

She left a suicide note explaining her desperation after the surgery had left her unable to chew food or stop crying due to nerve damage in a tear duct.

The doctor from the Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons, who would not be identified, told international news service AFP: 'If we are seeing more complications, that's largely because the sheer number of people getting the surgery has increased rapidly in such a short period of time.

'Yes, it was originally invented to correct a dental deformity, but you can't blame someone for getting the surgery to look good, especially in a place like the South where beauty, especially for women, pretty much trumps it all.'

Some 52 percent of those who had taken the surgery suffered sensory problems such as facial numbness, the study said.

Shin Hyon-Ho, a medical malpractice lawyer in Seoul, said he had seen cases where the surgery had resulted in chronic jaw pain, a skewed mouth, misaligned teeth and an inability to chew or smile.

He said: 'The number of plastic surgery-related cases is growing ... with complications becoming more serious.'

This was illustrated last August when a 23-year-old killed herself after having double jaw surgery.

She left a suicide note explaining her desperation after the surgery had left her unable to chew food or stop crying due to nerve damage in a tear duct.

The doctor from the Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons, who would not be identified, told international news service AFP: 'If we are seeing more complications, that's largely because the sheer number of people getting the surgery has increased rapidly in such a short period of time.

'Yes, it was originally invented to correct a dental deformity, but you can't blame someone for getting the surgery to look good, especially in a place like the South where beauty, especially for women, pretty much trumps it all.'

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